The "back hall" of the guest room of Pei Mansion is not the house that Yang Ji imagined, but a unique and exquisite courtyard with pavilions, buildings, rockeries, lotus ponds, and curved bridges. The fiery red, golden, and emerald flowers and trees are like splashing streams of light drifting in the wind, floating on the pavilion, on the railings, and floating on the water, which is so beautiful.
There is a pavilion hidden in the shadow of trees. There is a carved white marble stone fence in front of it. Below the stone fence is a small lake with clear water. There is a small bridge in the lake connecting the island huts. It is extremely quiet and elegant.
There is a pot of hot tea exuding dense water vapor on the stone table in the pavilion. The faint fragrance of tea enters the nose and is refreshing.
Beside the table, Yang Ji, Pei Ju and Pei Shiqing held a teacup in their hands and sipped the fragrant tea.
After a long silence, Pei Ju put down the tea cup in his hand and asked Yang Ji with a smile: "King Wei, I wonder if my Pei family can buy a store in Ganzhou, and can the Pei family's caravan travel smoothly along the Silk Road?"
A cunning rabbit must have three holes. Especially when the world is at peace, the Pei family must have multiple sources of wealth to prevent the family from declining due to reduced income. Today, the Pei family has a huge caravan and occupies a vast area in Bingzhou. of land, there are hundreds of shops in Daxing, Luoyang, Yangzhou and other places.
However, since last year, the imperial court has intensified its efforts to rectify the officialdom, causing officials without gray income to tighten their expenditures, and officials with spending power no longer dare to spend money as lavishly as before, lest the Yushitai will find out from now on. For my own family, the problem caused by this is that there is a great depression in business. This situation has no impact on small businessmen who deal with ordinary people, but it is a fatal blow to the aristocratic families engaged in the luxury goods industry.
Compared with other families, 30% of the Pei family's shops deal in pens, inks, paper and inkstones. In addition, the Pei family has a strong foundation and many engraving craftsmen with good skills. In addition, the Pei family's paper mills are densely located in the southern part of Bingzhou, making the price of Pei's books relatively low compared to Guanzhong booksellers. Therefore, the Pei family's pen, ink, paper and inkstone were in short supply and brought them huge wealth. However, with the promotion of movable type printing and ink, even bamboo papyrus can be used to print books. The emergence of these cheap books has caused a huge impact on the Pei family, so the Pei family decided to buy an industry in Guanzhong, but Guanzhong is Guanlong In the territory of the nobles, all the money-making businesses are almost monopolized by the Guanlong nobles. How easy is it for the Pei family to gain a foothold here? In desperation, the Pei family set their sights on foreign trade.
The foreign trade of the Sui Dynasty mainly had two major directions. The first was towards the northeast of the Xi tribe, Khitan, Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje. However, this area has always been dominated by the gentry in Hebei, and several governors of Youzhou were all related. He was a member of the Long aristocracy, so the Pei family could hardly gain a foothold.
Followed by the Turks in the north, however, the Sui Dynasty adopted strict material restrictions on the Turks, that is, damasks, satin, silk, silk, cloth, ironware, books and other items could not be sold to the Turks; money and silk were certainly attractive, but The fate of the family is undoubtedly more important, so even a wealthy family does not dare to trade with the Turks at the risk of confiscating the family and exterminating the family.
As for the third direction of foreign trade, it is naturally the Silk Road. The reopening of this golden channel has made every family member eager to move and want to get a piece of fat from now on. The Pei family is naturally no exception. However, this business road Under Yang Ji's rule, no caravan could leave the country without his consent.
Pei Ju now proposed it to Yang Ji, which had two meanings. The "petty profit" was only a secondary reason; the key was to test Yang Ji. If Yang Ji agreed, it would mean that he had the intention to cooperate and acquiesced to Pei's request to him. If you don't agree with the close facts, then there is no need to talk in depth.
Yang Ji naturally knew that buying a store and traveling the Silk Road with a caravan were two completely different concepts. Buying a store meant that Pei's power would enter the land of Liangzhou, while traveling with a caravan on the Silk Road was just for profit. Although he didn't quite understand what Pei Ju meant, if compared with Guanzhong, Pei Ju's attitude would be clearer.
Guanzhong is the sphere of influence of the Guanlong nobles, and Shandong gentry and southern gentry forces have never been allowed to enter. They have two completely different explanations for the foreign forces entering Guanzhong, one is invasion, the other is surrender. The Pei family could have bought a store in Ganzhou openly, but Pei Ju made this request in front of him. This is enough to show that the Pei family's intention is related to the latter. Even if they are not seeking refuge, it also shows that they are related to the latter. Have a good attitude toward yourself.
This is also because my mother and Gongsun Huan have taught me the twists and turns in officialdom and how to divide the sphere of influence. Otherwise, Yang Ji would really not be able to see through Pei Ju's deeper intentions.
Yang Ji knew Pei Ju's future status and influence better than he did himself. If there was such a powerful ally in the court in the future, it would be of undoubted benefit to him.
How could Yang Ji refuse the allies who came to his door? He put down the tea cup in his hand and said to Pei Ju: "Since I took office, I have carried out a comprehensive transformation of Zhangye City. The center of the city is the most prosperous and largest commercial market in Liangzhou, and the west of the city is mainly warehouses, while Yizhou and Tingzhou , Xizhou Prefectural Government also has this pattern. If the Pei family is interested, Pei Gong might as well send someone to purchase it. In addition, I am preparing to establish a merchant alliance to export my Sui products and Sui civilization to the Western Regions and Persia. If this commercial network layout is successful, then there will be no need for the Sogdians. Once these treacherous Sogdian merchants are eliminated, our gains in the Sui Dynasty will be countless times greater."
Having said this, Yang Ji sent an invitation to Pei Ju: "This business alliance cannot rely on the power of the palace alone, so I plan to find some like-minded people to cooperate and condense the scattered forces into a powerful whole. Pei Ju If you are interested, you might as well invest some money, and we will share the profits together."
After hearing these words, Pei Ju was overjoyed. He cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I would like to thank King Wei for his kindness. But I wonder how much I, Pei, can contribute?"
Yang Ji smiled: "In addition to me, in this business system, the King of Jin, the King of Cai, the King of Teng, and the King of Tao each account for 5%. In addition, some 'local aristocratic families' also invested some money, and the proportion is 100%." Ten percent. The rest is in my hands. I can give 5% to the Pei family. What does Mr. Pei think?"
"Thank you, King Wei." Pei Ju and Pei Shiqing were secretly shocked after hearing these words. In fact, they didn't care much about the proportion, because although five percent is very small, it is equal to the princes. Such a proportion is enough to show that Yang Ji paid more attention to Pei. What shocked the Pei brothers was the "King of Jin Yang Zhao" revealed by Yang Ji, which is very intriguing.
Because Yang Guang only has two legitimate sons, Yang Zhao and Yang Jian, once Yang Guang ascends the throne, King Yuzhang Yang Jian will also be promoted to prince. At that time, the prince will only have to choose between Yang Zhao and Yang Jian, so there are already many People began to take sides, some supported the eldest son Yang Zhao, and some supported the second son Yang Jian. Although everyone did not express their stance clearly, they all sent their children to serve under the two kings to express goodwill to them.
Yang Zhao is the eldest son and has a natural advantage, but the selection of officials depends on appearance, let alone the selection of the king of a country? As a result, Yang Zhao, who was too fat, lost some of his advantages. The king of Yuzhang, Yang Jin, looks very similar to his father Yang Guang. Not to mention, purely from the point of view of the love of beauty that everyone has, those who prefer Yang Jin are not much worse than Yang Zhao. In addition, Yang Jin is very popular. The prince and his wife were happy, and some people were more interested in Yang Jian. Based on this comparison, Yang Zhao and Yang Jian were evenly matched. Pei's thoughts were also focused on Yang Jian, and his confidant Pei Gai was one of the legitimate sons whom Pei arranged to go to.
But Yang Ji was not only a prince, but also the person Yang Guang valued most, so he was naturally much more accurate than everyone guessed when it came to selecting the future prince. Now that he has formed a "business alliance", Yang Xian does not exist. This shows that Yang Ji, Yang Zhiji, Yang Lun, Yang Jing and others are supporting Yang Zhao instead of Yang Jian.
Faced with such important information, Pei Ju couldn't sit still and couldn't help asking Yang Ji in a low voice. "I heard that both the saint and the prince decided to make King Jin the future prince. Does King Wei know?"
His question was not only to test the authenticity of this "information about establishing a crown prince", but also to examine Yang Ji's role and position in this matter, and at the same time to see whether Yang Ji trusted the Pei family. If Yang Ji is secretive and unable to talk openly and honestly, then the cooperation in the business alliance is just a friendship of interests, not a political alliance.
Of course, after everyone has an interest relationship, they can gradually be promoted to a political alliance, but this long process is not as satisfactory as a straightforward answer after all.
In officialdom, if you are not decisive, how can you do it?
Yang Ji also heard Pei Ju's probing intentions. He smiled and said: "Although I am a prince, I have always positioned myself as a local official. I don't pay much attention to important affairs of the imperial court or the prince's family affairs. But I feel that the establishment of a legitimate son It is the right choice for the eldest son to be the prince.”
"I also think that the King of Jin is modest, prudent, gentle and elegant." Pei Ju was very satisfied and happy. Yang Ji's answer was enough to show that Yang Ji had begun to trust him. This was an exciting and good news. beginning.
He changed the topic with a smile and said: "King Wei is a friend of ours, and I have made a decision on it in the Pei family. I don't know whether I should say something or not?"
"Pei Gong just said it's okay." Yang Ji said with a smile.
"The aristocratic families and the poor families are very stiff because of the ban on books, and King Wei's persistence is also an irreversible trend. I also fully agree with the view of 'born from worry and dying from happiness'." After Pei Ju finished his polite statement, he smiled and said to Yang Ji said: "King Wei only gave out the list of prisoners of the Bolingcui family and Guanlong Zhang family, which is indeed very clever. Nowadays, many noble families want to step on the bad reputation of the Bolingcui family and become the best noble family in the world, and the Zhang family The situation among the Guanlong nobles was also the same. In the following time, the Shandong nobles and the Guanlong nobles were in the middle of a civil war that cannibalized the Cui family and the Zheng family, and King Wei felt much more relaxed because of this. What I mainly want to say is Liangzhou …”
"The Liangzhou officialdom was first purged by King Wei, and then the descendants of the famous families resigned in protest against the books and the three schools of Liangzhou, resulting in a large number of vacancies. These vacancies are rich meat, which everyone covets. Ruler, it is not good to give it to anyone. If it were easy to do, the saint would not give the recommendation power to King Wei, and appointed him as he wished. Although King Wei was loyal to the court and dared to do things, he was too fierce after all. This will inevitably offend a large number of people."
Yang Ji asked: "Who did you offend? A member of the family?"
"More than that." Pei Ju shook his head and said: "No matter whether you are a member of aristocratic family or a poor scholar, everyone has to work hard for half his life to be a candidate official. If there is no vacancy, there is no chance to take office. As for the distinguished officials, dignitaries in the court, The direct descendants of fifth-grade officials can use Men Yin to rise to the position. But you also know that more than 90% of the people who come up from Men Yin are idle and casual officials who only receive a salary and do nothing! So the candidate officials and Idle officials dream of getting a position with real power. Even small officials such as county magistrate and county assistant are the positions they dream of. As long as they get it, they can prove themselves through talent and political achievements, and then through family, Teachers and students, old friends, and clique relationships can be used to improve.”
"It's not easy for Liangzhou to have so many vacancies and opportunities. These people are looking for relatives and friends, striving for a future with real power. The distinguished officials, nobles and dignitaries are also doing their best to fight for a seat for the children of the clan. Many noble families They stare at these fat men even more aggressively. Even the humble scholars will stare at you because of issues such as whether they can take up the post, the level of their position, etc. If you can satisfy their appetite, that's fine, but if not, these people will be angry with you! Enemies are full of you. In the world, there is no exaggeration.”
Pei Ju took a sip of tea and continued: "At that time, even if you have extraordinary abilities, it will be difficult to cope with the pressure and blows from many aspects."
"What Mr. Pei said is absolutely true. I also know that if I offend so many forces, it will be difficult to gain a foothold in the court in the future. But there are so many vacancies, and every force wants to compete for one more seat, and everyone wants to get a higher position, so No matter how I arrange or recommend, I am destined to offend a large number of people." Yang Ji smiled bitterly and said: "Since neither the left nor the right is right, then I can only be selfless and impartial, and rank all positions according to qualifications, reputation, and status. , recommend based on their talents, regardless of which faction or camp they belong to."
"It is true that no one will make a fuss about what you are doing now, but from now on, you will not be able to do anything! As long as everyone seizes the handle and the opportunity, they will swarm with open guns and secret arrows." Pei Ju shook his head and said solemnly: "You are A rare prince in the Sui Dynasty, if you do everything properly, then you will no longer be an indispensable and important person, and this is the most fatal problem."
Pei Ju's words were a little subtle, but he had already made the potential of "cunning rabbits dead and lackeys cooking" clear and vivid. If Yang Ji couldn't even understand such an obvious hint, what a piece of shit this official was!
Yang Ji pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and asked, "Then according to Pei Gong's wishes, what should I do now?"
Pei Ju was very happy that Yang Ji could ask him, which showed that Yang Ji already trusted him, which was undoubtedly a huge improvement.
Pei Ju had a long-term vision and a profound foresight. He knew that the Sui Dynasty was dominated by the royal family and the Guanlong nobles, and the rest were all "little characters". The Guanlong nobles were the main force in assisting the Northern Zhou Dynasty in destroying Qi and in the founding of the Sui Dynasty. Before and after the Zhou Dynasty destroyed Qi, the Sui Dynasty replaced Zhou, and the Sui Dynasty destroyed Chen, etc., they all achieved extremely generous war dividends. To this day, Guanlong The influence of the nobles has spread all over the world and penetrates into every aspect. Because of this, Yang Jian was very wary of the Guanlong nobles, but his series of reforms also left huge hidden dangers for the Sui Dynasty. If things went wrong, the world might be divided again.
Seeing the momentum of reshuffling the cards and the possibility of a war, how could Pei Ju not worry about himself and his family?
The biggest problem of the Pei family is that they are rich in literature but not in military strength. The Pei family will inevitably suffer heavy losses in a war that is very likely to occur. The Pei family must choose a powerful general to support and ally. This general cannot be a close friend. The Long nobles could not be barbarians or Shandong nobles, otherwise they would arouse the emperor's vigilance and cause the Pei family to lose its advantage in balancing the east and west.
So Pei Ju set his sights on Yang Ji, who was fighting alone. On the one hand, he used Yang Ji's sharp blade against the aristocratic family members to express his attitude to the emperor; on the other hand, he used Yang Ji's military "power" to intimidate political opponents and intimidate the emperor. There are very likely rebels.
Yang Ji's performance and attitude today made Pei Ju secretly feel lucky that he had made a mistake, but what Yang Ji just said, "'Local aristocratic families' also invested some money, the proportion is 10%" made Pei Ju feel a strong sense of crisis. , he believes that 90% of the so-called "local aristocratic families" are the two uncles of the Lanling Xiao family and Yang Ji; if this is true, the Pei family's status in Yang Ji's mind is always a dispensable outsider, and it may happen at any time Abandoned by Yang Ji.
The best way is to marry and elevate the relationship to the level of relatives, but Pei Ju is frustrated that after he heard about the "incompatibility", he never paid attention to Dugu Min's proposal of marriage, which caused Princess Wei to Mr. Xiao got his seat for nothing. What made him more gratified was that his daughter seemed to be destined to Yang Ji, but despite this realization, he did not want to act rashly.
"Strength!" At this time, Pei Ju saw Yang Ji humbly asking for advice from him, so he took the trouble to teach him: "If the saint did it himself, it would certainly make everyone dissatisfied and cause some trouble to the saint, but the saint has control The most powerful force in the world, so those forces that make it difficult for you to move forward are at most a small trouble in the eyes of a saint. And what you have to do is to unite all available forces to strengthen yourself. On the other hand, you have to learn from Su Wei .”
Yang Ji frowned and asked, "Learn from Su Wei?"
"Exactly." Pei Ju nodded and said with great admiration: "The most powerful thing about Su Wei is not his ability to govern the country, but his official power. This old man's longevity is also related to his ability to play both sides and adapt to the situation. , he never fiercely opposed the saint's intention, nor did he have any huge conflicts with Yang Su and others. Of course, he also had his own political opinions and opinions, and he would protest against injustice, but he would never stubbornly stick to his opinions. , once the saint is dissatisfied, he will cowardly give in. In addition, whenever he is in the most powerful position, he will hand the hilt of the sword to the saint, so that the saint can not only suppress him, but also kill a lot of lawless people. But he He has a brilliant strategy for governing the country, has high prestige in the court, and has countless peaches and plums that represent strength in the local area. Therefore, "Shen Ji" was recommended by his "peaches and plums" not long after. Su Wei "had no power and power" and led him With countless people slandering him as "starting from scratch," the saint naturally trusted him. King Wei, what do you think is the secret to this?" Yang Ji said: "I think it relies on ability and strength, and timely investment in the saint. So good."
"That's right!" Pei Ju stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The reason Su Wei is smarter than Gao Jiong is that he doesn't act as an upright official or a sage, and he is shameless. He always ruins his reputation on insignificant things, so that the saint can have his reputation. There are things to grasp, but he is able to grasp every opportunity and every speed with great precision. Every time he commits a crime, it is not enough to kill him or make him remain silent forever. Therefore, although he has ups and downs, he has always been a saint. Never fade."
Yang Ji quickly stood up, bowed deeply, and said solemnly: "I will take Duke Pei's teachings to heart today."
What Pei Ju said was all about how to survive in officialdom, and every key point gave Yang Ji a kind of enlightenment. Moreover, what Pei Ju did in the future was exactly like the second Su Wei.
Many civil and military officials in the Sui Dynasty committed suicide, but they did not control their intensity well. Either they used too much force, or they appeared to be deliberately false. However, people like Su Wei and Pei Ju who did it so smoothly and naturally are extremely rare.
"King Wei is so polite." Pei Ju smiled happily and quickly stood up to return the courtesy.
At this time, Pei Xuanji, the son of Pei Ju, came quickly from the Yuedong Gate. He bowed to Yang Ji first, and then raised his hands to Pei Ju and asked for instructions: "Ah, noon is here, can we start the banquet?"
"Yes!" Pei Ju nodded, smiled and offered Yang Ji his hands: "King Wei, please!"
"please!"
. . . . . . . . . .
Daxing Palace!
Yang Jian walked into the Qianqiu Hall and saw Yang Guang burying himself in reviewing memorials. When Yang Guang was immersed in writing, he was almost overwhelmed by the mountains of memorials. He sat down on the brocade pier behind the high-legged table with curly ears. With a flick of his sleeves, he asked with a gloating smile: "Ah?, do you have any important memorials that need to be dealt with here? If there is nothing important, I would like to take a rest early."
Yang Guang has been reviewing memorials all morning. The memorials on his desk were replaced and brought up again like water. This morning, he was so busy that he didn't even bother to take a few sips of water. He spent his lunch reviewing memorials. It was time to eat, and now that I have been so busy, the speed of processing memorials has obviously begun to slow down.
In fact, there had not been so many memorials before. The main reason was that Yang Jian had recently ordered the governors of various states to reorganize the army and actively train troops. After that, the number of memorials suddenly increased countless times. The Grand Steward of Yongzhou Yang Xiong, the Grand Steward of Bingzhou Yang Liang, the Grand Steward of Yangzhou Yang Zhiji, the Grand Steward of Yanzhou Yang Lun, the Grand Steward of Yuzhou Yang Zhao, the Steward of Yizhou Dugu Kai, the Steward of Youzhou Dou Kang, the Steward of Jiaozhou Liu Fang and others wrote memorials like running water. Send it to Daxing City.
The main problems existing in the military are corruption and perversion of the law, bullying of superiors and subordinates, embezzlement of military pay, and reselling of supplies.
Those with solid evidence can be sentenced directly. What is annoying are those suspects with insufficient evidence, as well as the criminal officers and the political forces behind the suspects. If they come from a certain political force or aristocratic family, Yang Guang will not only have to rely on politics, military, and influence. Consideration and sentencing, as well as the deep meaning behind each case, are both time-consuming and energy-consuming to review.
When Yang Jian asked, Yang Guang's face felt slightly warm, and he stood up and saluted: "There are not many important memorials. There are only three memorials here that need to be decided by Aye."
"Oh?" Yang Jian raised his eyebrows and said nonchalantly: "Well, I have dealt with yesterday's two memorials today, and I am really tired. However, state affairs are the most important thing. Since you still have three memorials here, I have to go first. Read it all. There is no other way, who made me the emperor?"
"..." After hearing these words, Yang Guang suddenly felt sweat on his forehead. He is now showing signs of rejuvenating and becoming more and more out of touch. He always says and does childish things that make people laugh or cry.
The memorial on the case is divided into three large parts. On the left is the memorial that Yang Guang has not yet opened and read. In the middle is the memorial that Yang Guang can handle on his behalf. The three on the right require Yang Jian's personal approval. Yang Guang had been handling memorials for him for a long time. Yang Jian naturally knew Yang Guang's placement habits, but his position was far away from the three copies, and he was too lazy to reach out to get them, so he casually picked up the first one on the left that had not been properly sorted. watch.
Yang Jian is an old man in his sixties, and his eyesight is far inferior to that of young people. He squinted his eyes, carefully read half of the words, and suddenly burst into laughter.
Yang Guang just picked up a bowl of rice porridge and was about to eat it. Seeing his father looking overjoyed, he raised his head in surprise and asked, "Why is Aye laughing?"
Yang Jian laughed and said: "Take it and see it for yourself, hahaha, it's so funny, hahahaha..."
Yang Guang lowered his bowl and took a look at the memorial. It was an impeachment memorial written by Fang Gongyi, the governor of Taozhou. The governor disliked Yang Ji's "four-class people" policy in Liangzhou as being too benevolent and righteous. , he felt that this method was too slow to bear fruit for the highly autonomous second-class Party Xiang Qiang, and had to be supplemented by violent means. He then proposed a very cruel method, saying that if the Party Xiang Qiang group was unwilling to cooperate, they would be dispersed. The settlement policy castrated all their men. On the one hand, it threatened them, and on the other hand, it ensured that this disobedient race would have no descendants. After three generations, there would no longer be a country within a country.
When Yang Guang saw this, he couldn't help but laugh. This governor Fang was really a more cruel civil servant than a military general, and he could even make such a suggestion. However, with this method, aren't you afraid of direct rebellion by Dang Xiang Qiang?
Yang Guangyang presented the memorial and asked Yang Jian: "Ah, how should I reply to this memorial?"
Yang Jian laughed and said: "Why bother with him? Just throw this memorandum to King Kong Nu. I want to see how this Liangzhou governor and general manager responds."
"Here!" Yang Guang nodded. He also wanted to see what Yang Ji said and see if he could learn from it some crooked ideas for concocting Party Xiang Qiang.
Yang Jian came to the right side of the desk and picked up the first memorial for his approval. Just as he opened it, he seemed to think of something again and said to Yang Guang: "That's right! Daxing City has been unbearably hot recently. The heat wave is rolling." It makes me so angry that I can’t breathe; and Qizhou Renshou Palace has beautiful mountains and clear waters and is very cool, which is the most suitable for summer vacation. I plan to go there to stay for a while. During the summer vacation, you are in Daxing to deal with some affairs. If you encounter difficult decisions Memorial, you can just send someone to Renshou Palace for my approval, since the distance between the two sides is not far anyway!"
"I obey, my child." Yang Guang suggested to Yang Jian: "Vajra slave took a wedding leave, and he is idle now. Why not let him be responsible for Aye's defense?"
"It's not necessary." Yang Jian shook his head and said, "Jinguang Nu has been busy since he became the governor of Liangzhou. He will be busy again soon, so let him rest for a few days. And Qizhou is right next to the capital, what can happen?"
Yang Guang originally wanted to let the troops led by Dong Gongba serve as the escort army, but when he thought of the delicate relationship between the emperor and the prince, he still did not say anything.
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